A TEENAGER who dreams of joining the Army left a man injured after attacking him on a train.

Craig Tilley, 18, pleaded guilty at Dumbarton Sheriff Court to a single charge of assault, which left the victim with permanent disfigurement. 

At the hearing on July 25, fiscal depute Tiffany Chisholm said that Tilley along with a friend, got on the train at Singer station on October 6, 2021.

He approached his victim and began to punch him several times to the head.

When the train arrived at Dumbarton Central, Tilley got off. 

The man later went to the Vale of Leven Hospital to be examined and it was found he had bumps on his head and bruising to the right side of his neck.

Tilley's defence lawyer Brian McGuire said: "He was 16 at the time of the offence. There was some background in relation to some tension between himself and the complainer. It is a matter he deeply regrets. 

"The family are taking the matter extremely seriously. He describes the circumstances to me as an incident that blew up and was over and done with in a short time. He bitterly regrets it and takes full responsibility for this.

"He has displayed the appropriate attitude toward the matter and since then he has been in no trouble for the last 18 months. It is unfortunate but it is hoped that this will be a one-off.

"He wants to join the Army and this won't preclude him from it but there is a timescale involved. He has to wait until six months after the sentence."

Sheriff Seith Ireland told Tilley: "It is a serious matter that Mr McGuire acknowledges and I understand that you acknowledge because, whatever the intention was, you had some past friction and then you assaulted him.

"It may not be the worst type of disfigurement but it is likely to cause embarrassment. There is some sense of concern about that in a young person's life.

"You're a young man and, against that background, I have formed the view that there is an alternative to custody."

Tilley, of Stuart Road, Dumbarton, was placed on a community payback order for one year under social work supervision and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.